Word: preschoolers
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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Parents can take heart: the amount of programming for preschoolers has exploded, and much of it is both entertaining and beneficial. The old standbys--Mister Rogers, Sesame Street and Barney--remain, but dozens of other shows are now on the air or are scheduled to appear in the coming months. On the Disney Channel, there is Bear in the Big Blue House, which features a 7-ft. bear and his puppet friends; the WB network is showing Channel Umptee-3, a cartoon that Norman Lear is helping produce; a new Captain Kangaroo is in syndication; Nickelodeon schedules five hours...
Several forces have encouraged the creation of these shows for preschoolers. Cable continues to grow and demand more programming for every conceivable niche; new FCC regulations require broadcast stations to air three hours of educational and informational programming for children each week; recent research in early childhood development has stimulated interest in that stage of life; and, finally, producers have discovered that a preschool show can make a lot of money. "The success of some preschool shows in driving licensing and product sales is extraordinary," says Marjorie Kaplan, who oversees children's programming at the Discovery Networks. "When something like...
...insights have begun to infuse new passion into the political debate over early education and day care. There is an urgent need, say child-development experts, for preschool programs designed to boost the brain power of youngsters born into impoverished rural and inner-city households. Without such programs, they warn, the current drive to curtail welfare costs by pushing mothers with infants and toddlers into the work force may well backfire. "There is a time scale to brain development, and the most important year is the first," notes Frank Newman, president of the Education Commission of the States...
...hope as well. Scientists have found that the brain during the first years of life is so malleable that very young children who suffer strokes or injuries that wipe out an entire hemisphere can still mature into highly functional adults. Moreover, it is becoming increasingly clear that well-designed preschool programs can help many children overcome glaring deficits in their home environment. With appropriate therapy, say researchers, even serious disorders like dyslexia may be treatable. While inherited problems may place certain children at greater risk than others, says Dr. Harry Chugani, a pediatric neurologist at Wayne State University in Detroit...
Barbie may not be everyone's favorite companion--detractors love to hate her plastic perfection--but the fashion doll with the impossible figure has long been the most popular girl at Mattel. The world's No. 1 toymaker, whose products range from Fisher-Price infant and preschool toys to Disney-licensed characters, gets more than one-third of its nearly $4 billion in sales from the 11 1/2-in.-tall mannequin. Now Barbie, who at age 37 has become the best-selling girls' brand ever, is poised to strut into, and perhaps change forever, the male-dominated world of multimedia software...